


Want

by Katie_with_the_Tea



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27074641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katie_with_the_Tea/pseuds/Katie_with_the_Tea
Summary: Harry gets asked a lot of questions and struggles to find answers that aren't "Ginny."
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 20
Kudos: 104





	Want

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head (and as a draft) for a long time. Hope you enjoy it!

Harry had agreed to this on the one condition that this would be the only one he had to do, and that he could be left alone for at least the rest of the summer. No training, no work, no meetings, until after September the first. He wanted nothing but warm days in the sunshine at the Burrow and Molly Weasley’s cooking. He thought he deserved a bit of privacy and relaxation after everything. 

But just because he had agreed to this, didn’t mean he had to like it. Kingsley had asked him to do this as a part of the press conference the Ministry was holding to inform the wizarding public of the changes he was making for the better, to reverse the damage done by Voldemort’s regime, in a bout of transparency not seen from the Ministry in decades. If it had been anyone else who asked, Harry would have refused, but he did not feel pressured nor did he feel that Kingsley would have thought any less of him if he had refused. Kingsley had plainly stated his goals for the briefing, adding that it was absolutely Harry’s choice and he would make sure that no one at the ministry said a word about it either way. And Harry almost had refused, tired of being in the limelight, questioning if it would make things better or worse. But after a conversation with Mr. Weasley and thinking out loud with Ron, Harry figured he’d do it just this once. Perhaps if he gave the wizarding public a bit of himself here and there, they might be more respectful of his desire to be left alone. Or maybe they wouldn’t, in which case he needn’t give any further interviews anyway.

Harry knew people needed to hear what he had to say, had questions for which they needed answers, and there were some answers that would sound better coming from him, or at least some people thought so. So he agreed and worked carefully with Ron, Hermione and Kingsley to come up with a suitable explanation for the events of the past year, one that didn’t involve hallows or horcruxes. 

But even with all of that, all he really wanted to do was-

“Mr. Potter, how does it feel to have received the Order of Merlin, First Class?” The reporter’s question brought Harry back to the present. They’d been here for some time already and the questions were becoming more personal - less to do with the war itself - and his mind was beginning to wander. He sighed internally before answering. At least it was an easy one.

“It’s a great honor, of course, but as I’ve said before, I couldn’t have done any of it without help from a lot of other people. They’re just as deserving.” 

Short and simple. He saw Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasley’s off to the right side of the crowd near the back, a source of comfort and support, as always. Harry was trying very hard not to make eye contact with Ginny. His concentration was already wavering and he didn’t need further encouragement. He could feel her eyes on him, though, and the hairs on the back of his neck prickled under her gaze. 

They had not had much time together since it all ended, apart from that first morning they had woken up tangled together in a chair in the Gryffindor common room. He’d slept for days after that - literally - and then there were funerals and memorials to attend, meetings to be had, clean-up to be done. Mourning. Things had been busy, and yet not busy enough. There were many days Harry remembered not having much to do at all, but those days never seemed to coincide with anyone else, least of all Ginny. He longed for more than short, interrupted moments alone with her, but something always seemed to get in the way. And now it was today, right now, already the middle of July, and they were at this damned press conference when all Harry really wanted was to--

“What was it like being on the run for so long, knowing what would happen if you were caught, Mr. Potter?”

Harry nearly cursed at the witch who had asked the question, angry mostly at himself for letting his thoughts wander again. His patience was wearing thinner by the moment. This answer was more difficult to put into words, and not least because it was getting more and more difficult to keep his mind on the people in front of him rather than one in particular standing off to the side, staring at him with her deep brown eyes. 

He could see quills poised and ready to write his answer, flash-bulbs going off with puffs of purple smoke as they took still more pictures. He chose his words carefully, not wanting to prompt more questions that would prolong this tortuous hour.

“It was difficult, of course,” Harry began. “Terrifying at times. Some of you know what it was like - not having enough food, not knowing where you’d go next, and worst of all, not having any contact with those you care about most. Up to that point in my life, it had been one of the hardest things I had ever done. But it was necessary, though I know there are a few of you out there who disagree and to you, I say, the next one’s all yours.”

Polite titters of laughter rippled through the crowd before him. Once again, Harry could feel Ginny’s eyes bore into him. His consciousness was locked on to her like a beacon. She was standing with the rest of her family, between Percy and George. Harry knew she had to be getting frustrated. Not for today or at him necessarily, of course, but because everything seemed to be conspiring against them.Their conversations since that first morning at Hogwarts had been short, never straying beyond that day’s immediate activities, chores or what was for dessert. This wasn’t for lack of trying on either of their parts, but every time Harry was about to ask her if she wanted to go for a walk or a fly to give them the time and space to talk more, someone came to one of them with a question or a task. He saw the looks she gave him when he had to leave for a last minute meeting with Kingsley or when she realized her parents needed help with something but weren’t asking. And most of the conversations they did have included other people, or at least other people were around. 

He hoped she didn’t think he was avoiding her or anything. It’s just that he could never seem to find the right time to be alone with her. Someone was always around, and the conversations they needed to have weren’t exactly ones he wanted to have in front of her family. He knew Ginny wanted to talk to him, privately, too, just as much as he wanted to talk to her; he could see it in her eyes every time they got interrupted before the conversation could turn to more serious matters.

There were still so many things he wanted to tell her that he didn’t quite know how to say, and so many things he wanted to hear from her as well, he thought. Though he tried not to think about the horrors of her year too much. But at this moment, all he really wanted to do was--

“Mr. Potter, what is it that you plan to do now that you’ve finally defeated Lord Voldemort?”

Harry started slightly at the use of Voldemort’s name, not out of fear, but at the shock of hearing someone outside of the Order using it, and so soon after the taboo was lifted. 

But of course immediately after the question registered, Ginny popped into his head, images flashing through his imagination of what he would rather be doing right now besides standing in front of a load of capricious journalists who were a year ago still questioning his sanity and innocence regarding Dumbledore’s death.

He let out a bark of a laugh, reminiscent of Sirius, probably failing to hide the bitterness he felt that he hadn’t had time to do anything for himself before today. He took a small pause, glancing at Kingsley, before he answered.

“As Interim Minister Shacklebolt said, I’ll be joining the Aurors soon, to help hunt down any remaining Death Eaters and to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

The quills continued to scratch as more hands rose in the air. This could go on for hours still. Harry’s concentration slipped further. It was as if every fiber of his being was locked on to Ginny now, no matter how hard he focused his attention on the throng of journalists in front of him. He could see Ginny shifting on her feet out of the corner of his eye. Her hand brushed across her face as she leaned in to listen to something Percy said. 

Harry felt his neck flush as more thoughts of her continued to dance through his mind. He wondered if she knew that at this moment he couldn’t care less about his joining the Aurors. What he was really thinking was about his future with her, the only future he truly wanted now that he knew he had one. Harry dared not look directly at her, afraid of what he might do or say if he did. He’d definitely lose any ounce of concentration he had left. But even without looking, he could picture her face, brown eyes blazing, the set of her jaw, the way her hair fell across her shoulders as she turned her head to laugh quietly at something Ron said... If he wasn’t careful, he was going to--

“When you were away this past year, what was it you missed the most, Mr. Potter?” 

The question caught him off guard, like they’d been reading his mind. Again, Ginny’s face flashed before his mind and he had to, again, stop himself from looking at her and giving himself away in front of all these people. It was a very personal question, yes, but he could answer truthfully without giving too much away. It would be the absolute truth if he said that Ginny Weasley was what he had missed the most while he was away. But perhaps not something he would admit in front of a room full of strangers.

“That’s a bit personal, yeah?” he said running a hand through his hair. “But I imagine I have the same answer as anyone else would. I missed a lot of things. People I care about. Not being able to send letters. Decent and regular meals.”

Harry could hear Ron trying not to laugh and failing miserably. He thought he heard a hiss and then a foot stomp, which was probably Hermione trying to get him to stop. “And I missed being able to do the things we all take for granted, like going to class, flying, joking with friends, just being normal. Not that my life has ever been what anyone would call ‘normal’.”

There were titters through the crowd again. Outwardly Harry gave a wry grin, but he hoped this would end soon. Ginny kept popping into his head as an answer to every question. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take without doing or saying something extremely foolish. 

“Mr. Potter, if you could do anything at this moment, what would it be?”

Harry was quiet for a moment, thinking. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. Ginny--her face, the flowery scent that seemed to engulf him every time she was close, the feel of her mouth on his, the taste of her tongue, her long silky hair, the sounds she made when he kissed her-- it all swam through Harry’s head at once, overwhelming his senses, derailing his thoughts completely. Any thought of what else he may have been about to say left his mind. Surely if he opened his mouth either nothing would come out, or he would embarrass himself by admitting something to the whole world that he only planned on admitting to the one person who really needed to hear it.

The entire room was silent, waiting for him to answer the question. Harry knew there were a million things he could say that would satisfy them, but for the life of him he couldn't think of a single one that didn’t have something to do with Ginny. What he wanted to do at this moment was--

Harry cleared his throat a couple of times and swallowed before saying hoarsely, “I think I’d like to go for a nice long fly or a game of Quidditch.”

He glanced at Kingsley, quietly signaling that he was done. Kingsley nodded and stepped over, thanking Harry and dismissing him, before taking over and beginning to wrap things up.

Harry stepped off to the side and steeled himself for what he was about to do, foolish as it likely was. And that was saying something, given his history with hare brained schemes. 

Taking a deep breath, he walked down the stairs that took him off the temporary dais where he had just been standing, then moved quickly to the side of the crowd before he could over-think what he was doing. A quick glance around assured him that, for the time being, no one was paying any attention to him. All the same, he wished he had his cloak. He could hear the press conference continuing behind him, and he hoped it would last just a bit longer so the attention would remain on Kingsley. 

He stopped in front of Ginny, looking into her eyes for an answer to an unspoken question. He saw the grin form on her mouth, but he barely registered the surprise he saw in Ginny’s eyes or the delighted squeak she emitted when he leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth as his hands tangled in her silky hair.

He was only distantly aware of George and Percy on either side of them backing away in shock and hearing Percy’s affronted whisper of, “Really, is that necessary?” 

Harry could vaguely hear the excited murmurs of the reporters immediately behind him as they realized what was happening. He knew this would probably make headlines for weeks, but at that moment, Harry couldn’t bring himself to care, much like the first time he kissed her so many months ago. 

All Harry could truly focus on was Ginny, her familiar flowery scent as it filled his nose. Her lips felt just the same, soft and inviting. A quiet moan came from Ginny as she seemed to catch up to him, responding in kind. Ginny clutched one hand in his robes and pulled him closer as she slid her other hand up to grasp behind his neck. Harry’s heart soared. His one hand tangled further into her hair while the other dropped to her back to hold her against him. He never wanted to let her go again; he could hardly believe he was kissing her again after so many weeks of trying to get her on her own. He felt his stomach swoop as she ran her fingers up through his hair, goose pimples erupting down his spine. He shivered and deepened the kiss, wrapping both arms around her now, and pulling her so close her feet left the ground. He heard Ginny let out a small squeak and then giggle. 

An excited shout behind him brought him back to his surroundings. Ginny pulled away, much too soon for his liking, and looked at him, smiling and brown eyes shining.

“Took you long enough,” she whispered. “But I think you could have chosen a better moment.”

“Couldn’t help myself,” Harry replied quietly, laughing. “It’s all I could think of that I really wanted to do and I couldn’t get it out of my head once I thought of it. You’re quite distracting.”

Ginny laughed too, and rolled her eyes and looked down the line of Weasleys at her parents. Harry, suddenly remembering that all of them were there, turned toward them too, feeling his face heat. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both had somewhat bewildered and politely surprised looks on their faces, and were obviously at a loss for what to say to that very obvious display of affection toward their youngest child. Charlie and Bill were exchanging confused looks, clearly wondering if they were missing something, while Fleur had a knowing smile on her face. Hermione was covering her mouth--Harry wasn’t sure if she was hiding a smile or an open mouth. Ron had his face covered in his hands, clearly embarrassed, but for whom exactly - himself or Harry - Harry didn’t know. Percy looked annoyed, his arms crossed as he glared down at them through his ever present horn-rimmed glasses. George looked more aware of his surroundings than Harry had seen him since the battle; there was a familiar glint in his eyes and Harry knew that George was filing this away to use against them at a later date. In fact, a small grin was beginning to form, and he looked as smug as ever as he crossed his arms and nodded toward the crowd of photographers still snapping away behind them.

And suddenly the blissful bubble around Harry popped and he was quite aware of the fact that he had just kissed Ginny Weasley in front of a rather large crowd of strangers. Again. 

It seemed attention had completely shifted to Harry once more, despite Kingsley’s attempts otherwise. The cacophony of noise grew louder as the reporters tried to be heard over one another. The cloud of purple smoke grew again as the flashing cameras tried to capture the Boy Who Lived Again in a photo to go with whatever sensational headlines were going to be in that evening’s Prophet. Harry hadn’t noticed Kingsley come over with some other Aurors and members of Magical Law Enforcement to try to control the crowd. He shot an annoyed glare at Harry in one moment and then in the next flicked his head toward the exit with a nearly imperceptible grin and a wink in silent signal for him to get the hell out of there.

Harry didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed Ginny’s hand and pulled her toward the exit, the others not far behind. A quick word to Ron assured him they’d be left alone for the afternoon. 

“Where do you want to go?” he asked, Ginny as they broke away from the others. 

“Anywhere. Somewhere quiet, just us.”

He smiled. “Up for a fly?”

Ginny’s face lit up, and Harry tightened his grip on her hand before turning on the spot and apparating them away.

**Author's Note:**

> I just couldn't drop the idea that, even though Harry is a very private person, he can't seem to help himself when it comes to Ginny sometimes.


End file.
